Bald eagles will parent extra-full nest

Saturday

Jul 30, 2011 at 12:01 AMJul 30, 2011 at 1:26 PM

BOSTON - A pair of bald eagles in Maine did more than their part to distance themselves from the endangered-species list in a rare quadruple hatching of four eaglets, wildlife officials said this week.

BOSTON — A pair of bald eagles in Maine did more than their part to distance themselves from the endangered-species list in a rare quadruple hatching of four eaglets, wildlife officials said this week.

“Four eagles in one nest is quite a crowd,” state wildlife biologist Kendall Marden said on Thursday, calling the hatching a remarkable event.

It marked the first time such a packed nest has been documented in Maine, and only the fourth time in the United States, according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Before producing the four eaglets, the pair of bald eagles had endured two years of unsuccessful attempts at nesting, Maine wildlife experts said.

“While the bald eagle’s status isn’t quite as tenuous as it was years ago, it still remains exciting to see new milestones in their continued resurgence,”Marden said.

Only a few decades ago, bald eagles were battling extinction. Today, Maine boasts more than 500 nesting eagle pairs.

The bald eagle was removed from the state’s list of threatened and endangered species in 2007.

The next few weeks will be critical for the baby eagles as they begin to fly and feed on their own. After meeting those milestones, the chance of surviving their first year is 75 percent, wildlife officials said.